James G. Harrison, Jr., MD, of Mount Airy, N.C., died Aug. 7, 2022. He was born on June 28, 1925 in Mount Airy, North Carolina, and passed away at the age of 97 in Portland, Oregon. Growing up, Jim was a high achiever and graduated early to attend the Citadel Military Academy at Duke University. Jim went on to attend Duke School of Medicine, where he focused on psychiatry. He married Dorothy Snyder, to whom he was married for several decades, until the end of her life. Together they had three children: James, Patricia, and Deborah.
Early in their lives together, in 1947, they moved to Honolulu (Territory of Hawaii), where Jim interned at Queen’s Medical Center. Jim’s family grew in Hawaii, where he also established a successful, 50-year medical practice that focused on treating people who needed psychiatric and mental health care, including substance abuse. The family moved to California in 2000, where he continued working as a psychiatrist for 10 more years before retiring. After Dorothy’s passing, Jim met, fell in love with, and married Holly Manson, with whom he moved to Portland.
Jim touched many lives in his journey through this world, including his children and thousands of patients. Jim was well cared for throughout the pandemic and in his final days by his son-in-law, Josh Heath, and is survived by his children, James and Debbie, as well as Holly’s children, Karen, Ellen, Shanta, Josh, and their families.
Jim will be buried next to Holly at the cemetery in San Juan Bautista on August 13, 2022, at 2pm. He will be remembered for his open heart, his warm and genuine approach to people and life experiences, and his curiosity, wonder, and wisdom about what it means to be a caring person on this planet. From everyone who was lucky enough to know you, rest in peace, Jim, and Aloha ‘Oe.
Posted in: Gilroy Dispatch
Posted on: 2022-08-12
Link to original obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/gilroydispatch/name/james-harrison-obituary?id=36170189